Abdulmumin’s own life is testimony to how good mentoring and a good environment can make a difference. Coming from a disadvantaged background himself, through positive role models, he went on to become the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in social ecology from the University of California at Irvine.
InFocus got a chance to speak with E.M. Abdulmumin recently.
InFocus: You grew up on the streets of South-Central Los Angeles. What are some of the lessons that you learned from that experience?
E.M. Abdulmumin: It was a very poor and tough neighborhood. I learned how to be strong and how to struggle to achieve. We did not have a lot within the environment and we had no good examples. I became a gang leader, but our gang was not really bad. We just protected the community. This led me to be a good guy but in a very rough, bad neighborhood. It helped me and some others to begin to think about our future. We began to try to think about changing our circumstances.
IF: You have devoted much of your adult life to helping disadvantaged youth. What initiated your interest in doing that?
EM: It stemmed from my own childhood. My parents had a very limited education so I was doing things that my family had never done before. It was the strength that I got out of my parents and also the neighborhood that helped me become disciplined and have a strong personality. A lot of people believed in me for some reason. So many bad things were happening like gangs, a lot of fighting and older people using heroine. It was depressing and difficult. I remember when my parents would take us to Orange County or Disneyland; you could see the difference in the neighborhoods. It began to make me think about the situation I was in. Why was I in that neighborhood? Why were my friends and I living in poverty? That helped me to never forget that situation.
IF: Recently, a US Mayor in Macon, Georgia explained his conversion to Islam as going back to his African roots. When did you revert and is this something that holds true for you as well?
EM: I reverted in 1975. I was a graduate student at UC Irvine. As a kid I had been introduced to the Nation of Islam but I never joined. I had a brother-in-law who always talked about it. I saw them - they dressed nice, they took care of themselves, they didn’t use drugs and they were all about their family. It really had an impact. In the back of my mind I always had Islam. So when I got to graduate school I was reflecting and asked how to keep my life positive and constructive. Islam became my hope to getting to the top and continuing having principles, having philosophy, having the Qur’an and having all the friends that come with Islam. With Islam, yes I felt like I was going back to my roots, especially when I began the study about Africa…about Malcolm X.
IF: Despite you coming from a disadvantaged background, you excelled in your pursuit of knowledge and obtained a Ph.D. in social ecology, becoming the first black person to do so in that field. What made you interested in this subject? How has this subject helped you in your work today?
EM: Social ecologists marketed themselves as being able to create social change agents. They told us that learning social ecology and all its principles can help us become social engineers to change our community. I was about 24 or 25 when I went to school, and I believed that it would be very helpful. It was the hope of learning multiple things, not just psychology, not just sociology, but it was also social planning, law, it was all these different topics coming together to try to solve problems. Now I am able to understand the psychological aspect of what’s going on with the kids. I also understand the politics, the racism, the society and the struggle that the parents have. When I was little I was upset with my parents because I couldn’t understand the condition that my parents were in. So now it helps me when I talk to the parents and when I talk to youth. It gives them a wider perspective that it’s not really the kids’ fault; the parents have responsibility. When you put a child in a bad environment or a very bad school they will have to struggle. Overall, it helped me understand the bigger social, political, and economic picture of why people become bad or get into trouble.
IF: What did you learn from working as a Muslim prison chaplain? Were there any inmates who converted to Islam when you were doing this work?
EM: It was at least over a hundred whom I mentored that converted to Islam. I think they were curious about what we were talking about in the Islamic services. I could really relate to them, I would talk to them about Islam, the Qur’an, I would use the Hadith [Prophetic sayings] and I would also use plain examples that related directly to them. Some of them said that both their mother and father are in another prison. It was very serious stuff. It is painful to talk to a kid whose mother and father are in prison. That is the kind of population and situation I was working with.
IF: What was the rewarding aspect of working as a chaplain?
EM: The large number of people who accepted Islam began to live the Shahada that they took. They began to develop into Muslim scholars. One man received a Muslim youth award…another man started a non-profit organization to prevent gang violence. I learned to really believe that people are able to change through religion and education.
IF: What motivated you to start the Du Bois institution? What does it do?
EM: It is an outreach for the really tough community of east side Riverside, where most of the gang shootings and problems occur. This is the way to bring all my outreach to the community. We tutor kids in the community in after school and college prep programs. We are an official provider of the No Child Left Behind Act. The whole idea is to make these kids more academically successful. Research shows that kids who are successful in school don’t get into trouble, which is part of my prevention philosophy. I also teach them karate and drumming, and we try to teach music and other arts.
IF: A recent study says that after 25 years, there are six times as many gangs in L.A. As someone who works with these youth, why do you think they get involved in gangs?
EM: I think it is because they are overcome by the subculture that exists in their schools and neighborhoods. It’s the environment that creates a bad psychological state. One of the key things, which exists in Islam, is to get the parents involved. The kids must learn to be successful in school and be reinforced for it.
IF: How has your religion motivated you in the different capacities you serve?
EM: The large number of people who accepted Islam began to live the Shahada that they took. They began to develop into Muslim scholars. One man received a Muslim youth award…another man started a non-profit organization to prevent gang violence. I learned to really believe that people are able to change through religion and education.
I think that when we look at the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), we realize that our religion is about mind, body, spirit and that we should be as healthy as we can. We are taught in the Qur’an to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. So what I do, whether it is for Muslims or non-Muslims, I see as something good. It helps the individuals and the community.
IF: You teach a karate class and provide other youth sports programs. Why do you think it is important for youth to participate in fitness activities?
EM: I think that a lot of the kids are having problems with their health and are malnourished, and that leads to their problems with studying and ability to focus. I think that health is critical to anything that we want to do. I have a paradigm. The six priorities that these kids should have are spirituality, good health, family, career, finances and sixth would be our associates.
IF: Who has been the most influential person in your life?
EM: I have had a few. But the most influential people in my life are my mom and dad. Also Dr. Joe White at UC Irvine. He was the reason I was pulled out of the ghetto and got my Ph.D. Another would be my karate sansei. Karate is life. Through it, I gained strength and learned principles, tolerance and strategies for succeeding.
IF: You have worked tirelessly to give and change this community for the better. Do Muslims need to get more involved in giving back to the community?
EM: Definitely. It would make a big difference. We are focused on Allah and our religion and we know that it is charity, or sadaqa, to help people, so it benefits us spiritually, it cleanses our sins to get to our ultimate goal of Jannah and it also helps these people. The better we make people feel results in less violence and the fewer problems we will have.
In addition to working at the Du Bois Institute, Abdulmumin works as a licensed clinical psychologist, as professor at the Universities of California at Riverside and Los Angeles and at the University of La Verne. Abdulmumin has been recognized for his extensive work in the community by several organizations such as The City of Riverside, The California Association of Human Relations Organizations and The African American Chamber of Commerce. He is married and has six children.
